Bill Text: CT SB01041 | 2015 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Post-election Audit Integrity And Efficiency.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-05 - Public Hearing 03/09 [SB01041 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2015-SB01041-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 1041
January Session, 2015		LCO No. 4295
		*04295_______GAE*
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)

AN ACT CONCERNING POST-ELECTION AUDIT INTEGRITY AND EFFICIENCY.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 9-320f of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) Not earlier than the fifteenth day after any election or primary and not later than two business days before the canvass of votes by the Secretary of the State, Treasurer and Comptroller, for any federal or state election or primary, or by the [town] municipal clerk for any municipal election or primary, the registrars of voters shall conduct [a manual] an audit of the votes recorded in not less than [ten] five per cent of the voting districts [in the state, district or municipality, whichever is applicable. Such manual audit shall be noticed in advance and be] and central counting locations for absentee and election day registration ballots in such election or primary, as identified by moderators' returns required by subsection (c) of section 9-314, as amended by this act, and certifications required by section 9-228a, as amended by this act. Any errors, omissions or ambiguities in such returns or certifications shall be resolved by auditing all districts omitted from such returns or certifications and auditing the largest set of ballots or districts ambiguously identified. Such audit shall be (1) noticed, not later than three days prior to such audit, to the public and via electronic mail or telephone to any elector requesting such notification after the random selection, and (2) open to public observation. Any election official who participates in the administration and conduct of an audit pursuant to this section shall be compensated by the municipality at the standard rate of pay established by such municipality for elections or primaries, as the case may be.

(b) The voting districts subject to the audit described in subsection (a) of this section shall be selected in a random drawing by the Secretary of the State and such selection process shall be open to the public. At such drawing, the Secretary shall further randomly select five per cent of the municipalities in the election for audit of central counting locations for absentee and election day registration ballots, if any in such selected municipalities. The offices and questions subject to the audit pursuant to this section shall be, (1) in the case of an election, [where the office of presidential elector is on the ballot, all offices required to be audited by federal law, plus one additional office selected in a random drawing by the Secretary of the State, but in no case less than three offices, (2) in the case of an election where the office of Governor is on the ballot, all offices required to be audited by federal law, plus one additional office selected in a random drawing by the Secretary of the State, but in no case less than three offices, (3) in the case of a municipal election, three offices or twenty per cent of the number of offices on the ballot, whichever is greater, selected at random] three contested offices or questions selected in a public random drawing, separately for each district, by the municipal clerk [, and (4) in the case of a primary election, all offices required to be audited by federal law, plus one additional office, if any, but in no event less than twenty per cent of the offices on the ballot,] or registrars of voters prior to the conduct of the audit, and (2) in the case of a primary election, one office selected in a public random drawing, separately for each district and party holding a primary, by the municipal clerk or registrars of voters prior to the conduct of the audit. In the case of such central counting locations selected for audit, one voting district shall be selected in a public random drawing by the municipal clerk or registrars of voters prior to the conduct of the audit.

(c) If a selected voting district has an office that is subject to recanvass or an election or primary contest pursuant to the general statutes, or if such voting district would be the fourth voting district in a municipality selected for audit, the Secretary shall select an alternative district, pursuant to the process described in subsection (b) of this section.

(d) (1) The [manual] audit described in subsection (a) of this section shall, as set forth in subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection, consist of the [manual] tabulation of the paper ballots cast and counted by each voting tabulator subject to such audit [. Once complete, the vote totals established pursuant to the manual tabulation shall be compared to the results reported by the voting tabulator on the day of the election or primary. The results of the manual tabulation shall be reported on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State which shall include the total number of ballots counted, the total votes received by each candidate in question, the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were properly completed by each voter and the total votes received by each candidate in question on ballots that were not properly completed by each voter. Such report] and, separately, all ballots initially counted by hand if there are twenty or more in the voting district. The report of such audit, produced as set forth in subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection, shall be immediately filed with the Secretary of the State who shall immediately forward such report to The University of Connecticut for analysis. The University of Connecticut shall file a written report with the Secretary of the State, not later than one hundred eighty days after the day of the election or primary, regarding such analysis that describes any discrepancies identified. After receipt of such report, the Secretary of the State shall immediately file such report with the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

(2) The audit may consist of the manual tabulation of all the paper ballots. Once complete, the vote totals established pursuant to the manual tabulation shall be compared to the results reported by the voting machine on the day of the election or primary. The results of the manual tabulation shall be reported on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State that shall include the total number of ballots counted, the total votes received by each candidate for the office so audited or in favor of each question so audited, the total votes received by each such candidate or in favor of such question on ballots containing markings that should have been accepted by the tabulator as properly marked and the total votes received by each such candidate or in favor of such question on ballots containing markings that may or may not have been accepted by the tabulator as properly marked.

(3) The audit may be accomplished by means of an independent tabulation process, established prior to the election or primary, that retabulates all the paper ballots for all offices and questions in the election or primary. Such process shall utilize hardware and software approved by the Secretary of the State and shall be conducted by election officials following procedures established by the Secretary. Such process shall produce a cast vote record for each ballot by recording each vote assigned by the retabulation on each ballot and with a means of associating the ballot with the cast vote record either by the sequence in which the ballot was scanned or by a unique identifier added to each ballot. Such process shall result in the export, to a standard computer-readable format, of all cast vote records that shall be made available for review by members of the public who may observe such audit and thereafter transmitted in such format to the Secretary. Immediately following such export and cast vote record availability, the registrars of voters shall conduct a manual audit of the retabulation by randomly selecting original ballots and comparing the manual interpretations of the markings on such ballots to the associated cast vote records. The registrars of voters shall record, for each ballot selected, any difference between the manual interpretation of such ballot and the associated cast vote record and identify the circumstances, if any, accounting for such difference including, but not limited to, an improperly marked ballot. The number of ballots randomly selected for such manual audit shall be twenty ballots plus two per cent of all ballots retabulated for all districts audited in the municipality, provided the total number of ballots randomly selected for such manual audit shall not exceed sixty. The results of the retabulation shall be reported on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the State that shall include the total number of ballots counted, the total votes received by each candidate for the office so audited or in favor of each question so audited, a printed record from the retabulation machine, a copy of the printed record from the original election or primary tabulator and a record of the manual comparison of randomly selected ballots identifying any difference between the manual interpretations and the retabulation interpretations of the markings on such ballots.

(e) For the purposes of this section, a ballot that has not been properly completed will be deemed to be a ballot on which [(1) votes have been marked by the voter outside the vote targets, (2)] votes have been marked by the voter using a manual marking device that cannot be read by the voting tabulator. [, or (3) in the judgment of the registrars of voters, the voter marked the ballot in such a manner that the voting tabulator may not have read the marks as votes cast.]

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-311, the Secretary of the State shall order a complete audit or manual count discrepancy recanvass of the returns of an election or primary for any office or question if a discrepancy, as defined in subsection (o) of this section, exists where the margin of victory [in the race] for such office or the margin of victory or defeat for such question is less than the amount of the discrepancy multiplied by the total number of voting districts where such [race] office or question appeared on the ballot, provided in a year in which the Secretary of the State is a candidate for an office on the ballot and that office is subject to an audit as provided by this section, the State Elections Enforcement Commission shall order a complete audit or manual count discrepancy recanvass if a discrepancy, as defined by subsection (o) of this section, has occurred that could affect the outcome of the election or primary for such office.

(g) If The University of Connecticut report described in subsection (d) of this section indicates that a voting tabulator or retabulator failed to record votes accurately and in the manner provided by the general statutes, the Secretary of the State shall require that the voting tabulator or retabulator be examined and recertified by the Secretary of the State, or the Secretary's designee. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary of the State from requiring that a voting tabulator be examined and recertified.

(h) [The audit report] The municipal audit reports filed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be open to public inspection for not more than thirty days after such filing and may be used as prima facie evidence of a discrepancy in any contest arising pursuant to chapter 149 or for any other cause of action arising from such election or primary.

(i) If the audit officials are unable to reconcile the [manual] audit count conducted pursuant to subsection (d) of this section with the electronic vote tabulation of the count recorded on the day of the election or primary and discrepancies, the Secretary of the State shall conduct such further investigation of the voting tabulator, retabulator or retabulator software malfunction as may be necessary for the purpose of reviewing whether or not to decertify the voting tabulator or tabulators in question or to order the voting tabulator to be examined and recertified pursuant to subsection (g) of this section. Any report produced by the Secretary of the State as a result of such investigation shall be filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the commission may initiate such further investigation in accordance with subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 9-7b as may be required to determine if any violations of the general statutes concerning election law have been committed.

(j) The individual paper ballots used at an election or primary shall be carefully preserved and returned in their designated receptacle in accordance with the requirements of section 9-266 or 9-310, as amended by this act, whichever is applicable.

(k) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude any candidate or elector from seeking additional remedies pursuant to chapter 149.

(l) After an election or primary, any voting tabulator may be kept locked for a period longer than that prescribed by sections 9-266, 9-310, as amended by this act, and 9-447, if such an extended period is ordered by either a court of competent jurisdiction, the Secretary of the State or the State Elections Enforcement Commission. Either the court or the Secretary of the State may order an audit of such voting tabulator to be conducted by such persons as the court or the Secretary of the State may designate, provided the State Elections Enforcement Commission may order such an audit under the circumstances prescribed in subsection (f) of this section. If the machine utilized in such election or primary is an optical scan voting system, such order to lock such machine shall include the tabulator, memory card and all other components and processes utilized in the programming of such machine.

(m) The Secretary of the State may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, as may be necessary for the conduct of the [manual] tabulation of the paper ballots described in subsection [(a)] (d) of this section and to establish guidelines for expanded audits when there are differences between the [manual and tabulator counts] audit count and the electronic vote tabulation of the count recorded on the day of the election or primary.

(n) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the Secretary of the State shall have access to the code in any voting machine whenever any problem is discovered as a result of the audit described in subsection (a) of this section.

(o) As used in this section, (1) "discrepancy" means any difference in vote totals between [tabulator and manual counts] the electronic vote tabulation of the count recorded on the day of the election or primary and the audit count in a voting district that exceeds one-half of one per cent of the lesser amount of the vote totals between [tabulator and manual counts] the electronic vote tabulation of the count recorded on the day of the election or primary and the audit count where such differences cannot be resolved through an accounting of ballots that were not marked properly in accordance with subsection (e) of this section, (2) "state election" means "state election", as defined in section 9-1, and (3) "municipal election" means a municipal election held pursuant to section 9-164.

Sec. 2. Section 9-265 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) A write-in vote for an office, cast for a person who has registered as a write-in candidate for the office pursuant to subsection (b) of section 9-175 or section 9-373a, shall be counted and recorded. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a write-in vote cast for a person who has not registered shall not be counted or recorded.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, in the case of an office for which an elector may vote for only one candidate, a write-in vote cast for a person nominated for that office by a major or minor party or by nominating petition shall be counted and recorded. In the case of an office for which an elector may vote for more than one candidate, a write-in vote cast for a person nominated for that office by a major or minor party or by nominating petition shall be counted and recorded if it can be determined which candidate such vote should be attributed to.

(c) A write-in vote for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, cast for a person nominated for either of those offices by a major or minor party or by nominating petition, in conjunction with a write-in vote for the other such office cast for a person nominated for either office by a different party or petition, shall not be counted or recorded for either office.

(d) Except as hereinafter provided, a write-in vote for the office of President or Vice-President cast for a person nominated for such office by a major or minor party or by nominating petition shall be counted and recorded and deemed to be a vote for each of the duly-nominated candidates for the office of presidential elector represented by such candidate for President or Vice-President. A write-in vote for the office of President or Vice-President, cast for a person nominated for either of such offices by a major or minor party or by nominating petition, in conjunction with a write-in vote for the other such office cast for a person nominated for either office by a different party or petition, shall not be counted or recorded for either office.

(e) If the name of a person is written in for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, or President or Vice-President, as the case may be, and no name is written in for the other office, such write-in vote shall be counted and recorded if it meets the other requirements of this section.

(f) A write-in vote shall be cast in its appropriate place on the ballot. A write-in vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, or for President and Vice-President, as the case may be, shall be written in a single space, provided that if only one name is written in the space it shall be deemed to be a vote for Governor, or for President, as the case may be, unless otherwise indicated. A write-in vote shall be written upon the ballot.

(g) A write-in vote which is not cast as provided in this section shall not be counted or recorded as a vote for any candidate.

(h) In the case of a write-in vote cast or counted by a tabulator, the total number of write-in bubbles filled in per race will be counted and recorded. Such total number will be compared to and balanced with the write-in count for each race as reported by such tabulator.

Sec. 3. Section 9-310 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) As soon as the count is completed and the moderator's return required under the provisions of section 9-259 has been executed, the moderator shall place the sealed tabulator in the tabulator bag, and so seal the bag, and the tabulator shall remain so sealed against voting or being tampered with for a period of [fourteen days] either sixty days or thirty days prior to the use of such tabulator at a subsequent election, primary or referendum, whichever is less, except as provided in section 9-311 or pursuant to an order issued by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

(b) The moderator shall place all cast ballots in a container approved by the Secretary of the State, or as many such containers as may be necessary, and affix a numbered and tamper-evident seal approved by the Secretary of the State, or as many such seals as may be necessary, upon such container or containers. The moderator shall record such seal number or numbers in the moderator's return and the ballots shall remain so sealed against being tampered with for a period of thirty days after The University of Connecticut post-election audit report required by subsection (d) of section 9-320f, as amended this act, is filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, except as provided in section 9-311 or other applicable laws or pursuant to an order issued by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

(c) If it is determined that a recanvass is required pursuant to section 9-311 or 9-311a, immediately upon such determination the tabulators, [write-in] all ballots, absentee ballots [,] and moderators' returns and all other notes, worksheets or written materials used at the election shall be impounded at the direction of the Secretary of the State. Such package shall be preserved for one hundred eighty days after such election and may be opened and its contents examined in accordance with section 9-311 or upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. At the end of one hundred eighty days, unless otherwise ordered by the court, such package and its contents may be destroyed. Any person who unlocks the voting or operating mechanism of the tabulator or the counting compartment after it has been locked as above directed or breaks or destroys or tampers with the seal after it has been affixed as above directed or changes the indication of the counters on any voting tabulator within fourteen days after the election or within any longer period during which the tabulator is kept locked as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction or by the State Elections Enforcement Commission in any special case, except as provided in section 9-311, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years. Any tabulator may be released in less than fourteen days, for use in another election, by order of a court, if there is no disagreement as to the returns from such machine and no order directing impoundment has been issued by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

Sec. 4. Section 9-314 of the general statutes is amended by adding subsection (c) as follows (Effective July 1, 2015):

(NEW) (c) Not later than three o'clock p.m. of the day after the election, the moderator shall either (1) transmit to the Secretary of the State by facsimile machine or other electronic means prescribed by the Secretary complete copies of all district, central count absentee and central count election day registration moderator's returns, or (2) submit equivalent information electronically via a system maintained and specified by the Secretary of the State. Not later than twenty-four hours after receipt of such moderator's returns or equivalent electronic information, the Secretary shall make all such information available to the public, organized by town and district on the Internet web site of the Office of the Secretary of the State. Such information shall include votes by municipality broken down by tabulator counts, manual counts and write-in counts for each district and polling place, absentee counts and election day registration counts, moderator's returns and total number of voters checked in for each district.

Sec. 5. Subsection (m) of section 9-150a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(m) After the absentee and election day registration ballots have been so counted, they shall be placed by the counters, separately by voting district, in depository envelopes prescribed by the Secretary of the State and provided by the municipal clerk. Any notes, worksheets, or other written materials used by the counters in counting such ballots shall be endorsed by them with their names, the date and the time of the count and shall also be placed in such depository envelopes together with the ballots, and with the separate record of the number of votes cast on such ballots for each candidate as required by section 9-150b, as amended by this act. Such depository envelopes shall then be sealed, endorsed and delivered to the moderator by the counters in the same manner as provided in subsection (f) of this section. At the close of absentee and election day registration vote counting, voting tabulators, ballots and inner and outer envelopes shall be placed in containers approved by the Secretary of the State, which shall be affixed with numbered and tamper-evident seals approved by the Secretary, returned to the registrars of voters and retained in the same manner as polling place tabulators and ballots as provided in section 9-310, as amended by this act.

Sec. 6. Subsections (e) and (f) of section 9-150b of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(e) The sealed depository envelopes required by subsections (f) and (m) of section 9-150a, as amended by this act, shall be returned by the moderator to the [municipal clerk] registrars of voters as soon as practicable on or before the day following the election, primary or referendum.

(f) The [municipal clerk] registrar of voters shall preserve for sixty days after the election, primary or referendum the depository envelopes containing opened envelopes and rejected ballots required by subsection (f) of section 9-150a, and shall so preserve for one hundred eighty days the depository envelopes containing counted ballots and related materials required by subsection (m) of section 9-150a, as amended by this act.

Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 9-228a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) The registrars of voters of each municipality shall, not later than thirty-one days prior to each municipal, state or federal election or primary, certify to the Secretary of the State, in writing, the location of each polling place and each location for central counting of absentee ballots that will be used for such election or primary. Such certification shall detail the name, address, relevant contact information and corresponding federal, state and municipal districts associated with each polling place used for such election or primary.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	July 1, 2015	9-320f
Sec. 2	July 1, 2015	9-265
Sec. 3	July 1, 2015	9-310
Sec. 4	July 1, 2015	9-314
Sec. 5	July 1, 2015	9-150a(m)
Sec. 6	July 1, 2015	9-150b(e) and (f)
Sec. 7	July 1, 2015	9-228a(a)

Statement of Purpose:

To (1) enhance the coverage, accuracy and transparency of post-election audits while reducing cost and effort required for local election officials, (2) provide for timely notification of public events and filing of mandatory reports, (3) provide sufficient security of materials and equipment required for audits and follow-up investigations, and (4) make technical revisions to statutes to recognize that polling place voting includes paper ballots that must be secured.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]